Unlike a lot of people, I still like to watch baseball. I never really played baseball, but I do like to watch it. Maybe it’s because I spent so much time in Wrigley Field.
The tradition in baseball keeps it timeless. It’s the only sport where there is no time clock. Three outs. Three strikes. Four balls. Sixty feet six inches. Nine innings.
In the last ten years or so, statisticians have taken over baseball. It’s ruined a lot of the game. You don’t see hit-and-run, stolen bases, and other exciting parts of the game anymore. Batting averages aren’t what they were as players either strike out or home run.
Baseball isn’t the only sport that has that issue. So does basketball. Basketball has become very very boring to watch.
This past week, MLB decided to make a few rule changes to make the game more exciting.
increase the size of the base
time clock for pitchers
outlaw the shift
They are increasing the size of the base with an eye to incentivize more stealing. Meh, the size of the base never stopped Lou Brock, Vince Coleman, Maury Wills, or Rickey Henderson. Maybe the reason there are fewer steals is that the statisticians have determined that it’s better to sit on first base and wait for a homer.
The time clock for pitchers is okay but to me, it is the entire ballet a lot of hitters go through in their batting box ritual before the pitch. Some pitchers certainly abuse time. You look at games in bygone eras and they’d only take a couple of hours to play. That might also be a function of television and commercials. I’d be interested to see if night games take longer to play than day games too. A time clock isn’t debilitating but I am not sure it will make a gigantic difference.
The thing that will change the game big time is banning the shift. For those that don’t know baseball, the shift is when you take your infield and move it to one side or the other of second base. The statisticians know which hitters have a tendency to hit the ball to one side of the field. This is being a “pull hitter”. Lefties have a stronger reputation as pull hitters. Cleveland Indians manager Lou Boudreau employed the shift against Ted Williams back in the 1950s.
Not only will they shift the infield, but the outfield moves as well. On top of that, pitchers will pitch certain pitches to certain spots to make it more likely a hit ball will go right into the shift.
Here is a photo of one shift. Often, there will be five players on one side of second base.
But, it begs a question. These guys are pros. They are paid millions of dollars per year to play a game. Why can’t they learn to adjust their swing to hit the other way? Or, if they are fast enough, bunt. Golfers do it with different lies and wind. Of course, hitting a golf ball and a baseball is different. But, these guys are incredibly talented with way above average hand-eye coordination.
Ted Williams did it. Why can’t modern-day players?
I loved baseball my whole life up until about 20 years ago. I grew up in Detroit, and used to listen to ballgames on the west coast with my transistor radio stuck under my pillow. I can remember listening to the Tigers play the A's and Reggie Jackson smacking a home run. I knew all the players on every team in the AL. I never paid much attention to the hated NL. So when I moved to Atlanta years later, I was never a Braves fan, never paid attention to them. My loss, perhaps. But baseball lost me somewhere along the way. I could not tell you who's on any roster until the playoffs come. I tune in then.
But these moves make no sense and sound desperate. Make the bases larger? Are you kidding me? What's next? larger bats and wiffle balls? You are correct- base runners can still do it. But are they allowed to? Or do today's players even concern themselves with a stolen base?
Timing won't change. And yes, the extending of the game is due to many things, including commercials- radio and TV, the numerous pitching changes (remember when starters were expected to pitch complete games?), in-between inning games and events for fans (nothing says you're afraid of losing fans like having to entertain them between innings).
But the one that bothers me the most is eliminating the shift. And yes, again- my point would be a great hitter would laugh at that and adjust (Rod Carew, anyone?). A hitter who cannot adjust is a slugger. And a slugger is going to go up there and just swing for the fences no matter what. Eliminating the shift is giving an added benefit to the sluggers of the game. Makes no sense, and it takes away another piece of strategy.
Baseball lost me years ago. I guess they have to fight for the kids now and frankly, larger bases doesn't sound like much of a fix to me.
We have seen games at Triple A level and like the pitch clock idea. It takes average game time to about 2:40, closer to what it took for a game 20 years ago. the 3.5+ hour games of today are really tough to watch.